Project: Democracy 2.0

Democracy 2.0 was a project of North York Community House (NYCH). They worked with newcomers to Canada, a Syrian Refugee Women’s Wellness Group, and the Lawrence Heights Art Centre through a series of experiential adult education workshops and practicum activities aimed at helping participants to find their voice and connect their lived experiences to Canada’s larger democracy. Democracy Talks is an independently evaluated and successful program developed by Samara Canada, in collaboration with North York Community House and other community agencies. The sessions that promote active citizenship, democracy, understanding different levels of government, social and personal transformation, and learning from each other through story.

This “Democracy in Action” digital story came out of this project – telling the story of the journey to better understanding democracy in Canada.

Through this project, the NYCH’s Syrian Refugee Women’s Wellness Group in Rexdale prepared a PhotoVoice presentation which was shared publicly at Toronto’s City Hall in April 2018 to highlight the experiences of refugees at NYCH’s Once Upon A Refugee Event. Plans are in place for the group to share this presentation in a number of other venues including the NYCH Annual General Meeting and a World Vision National Conference. Check out the presentation here: